Fiber-board box



I 1.4%,540. Patented y 11, 1922.,-

J. L. CHRISTENSEN.

FIBER BOARD BOX.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 5.1922.

2 sneaks-sun i.

. INVENTEIR JOHN L EHRIEJTENEEN J. L. CHRISTENSEN.

' FIBER BOARD BOX.

APPLICATION FILEDMAY 5, 1922.

Patented July 111, 11922.,

2 SHEETSSHEET INVENT UR .JEIHN l EI-IRIEITENEEN ATTYS- tar castes.

JOHN L. CHRISTENSEN, or German, tumors.-

FIBER-BO i 11 BOX.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J OHN L. CHRISTENSEN, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State ofIllinois, have invented a certain new and useful Fiber-Board Box, ofwhich the following is a specification.

The invention relates to boxes -.or receptacles such as are commonlyemployed in retail selling establishments as containers for articles ofmerchandise. One type of such receptacles is generally known assuitboxes but the invention pertains to all boxes of this generalcharacter irrespective of the particular use to which they may be putandalso, in its broad aspects, irrespective of size.

Boxes of this general class now in general use are usually constructedin two separate sections and are supplied to the user in the form offiat blanksso as to occupy a minimum amount of space in shipment and instorage, and hence must be assembled by the user. My invention isdirectedto a boxer receptacle which is capable of being made from asingle sheet of fiber board or other suitable material and which whileassembled at the factory is nevertheless capable of being folded orknocked down so as to permit of its shipment and storage in a flat form,occupying a relatively small amount of space more than that occupied bythe flat blanks.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a box of thischaracter panying drawings forming part hereof wherein I haveillustrated a single embodiment of the invention. I contemplate,however, that various changes in the form, construction and arrangementof the parts may be made by those skilled in the art but withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of my invention as expressed in theappended claims.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 11, 1922.

This application filed may 5, 1922.

Referring now to the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of myimproved box inits assembled form. Fig. 2 is a top plan view of theblank folded into the form which it occupies when it leaves the factory.

Fig. 3'is a plan view ofthe blank from which the box is formed andhavingsecured thereto a reinforcing stripfor one wide wall of the box. Fig. 4is a plan view of a portion of the blank used in the construction of amodified form of corner connecting means. Fig. 4 is a fragmentaryperspective view of such connecting means. Fig. 5 is a fragmentaryperspective view illustrating the method of folding the blank midwaybetween its ends in the operation of closing the box. Figs. 6 and 7 areerspective views showin the positions which the parts occupy at di1ferent stages in the operationof closing the The box in its preferredform comprises an upper or top section A and a lower or bottom section Bformed from a single sheet of material such as fiber board and eachcomprising a main wall, opposite end walls, an outer side wall and anintermediate or common side wall. Thus the upper section comprises amain wall 11, end walls 12, and

an outer side wall 13. An intermediate side wall 14, which it will beobserved, is common to both sections, constitutes a hinge between thetwo sections. The corresponding end walls 8 and 12 of the two sectionsare preferably connected together by rectangular intermediate portions15 which are notched at their free edges as at 16, so as to permit ofarelative substantiallyindependent swinging movement of these walls withrespect to each other whereby to facilitate the operation of swingingthe sections into interfitting relation, as hereinafter more fully setforth. To permit the box to be folded into its flat or knocked-downform, the opposite outer side walls are scored diagonally adjacent theiropposite ends as shown at 17 and 17.

The preferred manner of forming the various walls of the box as aboveset forth and as herein shown, consists in cutting and scoring arectangular blank along longitudin'al transverse and diagonal lines, asshown in Fig. 3, to form the various portions of the blank including tworectangular main portions 8 and 11; opposite end portions 9'and 12;outer side portions and 13; and an intermediate portion 11. Between thecorresponding end portions 9 and 12" of the two Sections are rectangularportions 15, and at the corners of the blank are corner portions orflaps 10 and 12", respectively.

In connecting the opposite end portions 9 of the upper section with theouter side portions 10, the latter in the construction shownin Figs. 1to 3, 6 and 7, is cut at its opposite ends, preferably on diagonal lines19, and is: severed from the adjacent corner portions along longitudinallines 20. By reason of the. severance of the corner ,por-

, tionsfromthe portion 10, when the end portions 9 and the side portion10' are the ends of the corner portions lie inside the opposite ends ofthe side portion.- The specific construction which is thus .simpllfiesthe assembling operation.

provided Upon the free end 'of the outer side portion 10, there ispreferably provided a flap 21 (Fig. 1) which is of a length equal to thelength of said side portion at its upper edge and which is capable ofbeing folded upon" a transverse score 22 inwardly and downwardly uponthe inner face of the side portion 10 to form a reinforcing orstiffening strip 21 (Figs. 2 and 3). Preferably thls flap folds over theoverlapping. corner portions 10. In providing for the flap 21, the blankis obviously made of sufliciently greater length and preferably in sodoing the corner portions 1O are also made of a correspondingly greaterlength, and it will be observed that by reason of such increased lengthof the corner portions when the latter are swung into perpendicularrelation to the main portion 8 and the end portions ,9, they serve toreinforce or brace additionally the outerside wall 10 against verticalstrains.

The several portions of the blank are secured in their folded relativeperpendicular position with .the corner portions flat against.

the inner face of the outer side portion 10 at the opposite ends of thelatter and with the flap E21 folded inwardly upon the-inner face of theportion 10, in any suitable way. Preferably a suitable number of staples23 are em loyed for this purpose, but it willbe obv ous that the partsmay be secured together in any other suitable or preferred manner, as bymeans of a suitable adhesive.

It may be seen that the diagonal fold at 17 in the outer side wall 10 ofthe box is facilitated by a diagonal score 24 in each of the cornerportions 10 and by the shape of the ends of the side portion 13*- cut onthe lines 19 approximately coinciding with the. scores 24 in the cornerflaps when the latter are secured in position upon the side portion 10.

In forming the lower section B of the box, the corner portions 12 aresevered from the adjacent ends of the end portions 12 to permit the endportions and the outer side portion 13 to be swung intoperpendicularrelation with reference to the main portion 11. Preferablythe corner portions 12 in this instance engage the outer faces of theend portions 12 and are secured in position by suitable means, such asstaples 23 v This arrangement of the corner portions 12 enables thetwosections of the box to be assembled more readily than would bepossible if they were secured to the side wall portion 13*, since ashereinafter. set forth, the end walls of the lower section are swunginto an inwardly inclined position in the assembling operation, out ofalinement with the endwalls of the upper section. Moreover, the doublethickness provided by the overlapping of the corner portions upon theouter side wall, in the case of the upper section, and upon the opposlteend walls in "the case of the'lower section, adds strength vided withdiagonalscores 24 near the oppositeends thereof. v

In Figs. 4 and 4? I have shown another methodof connecting the outerside walls .with the opposite end'walls: This method,

while somewhat more expensive from a manufacturing standpolnt, ispreferable where a more rugged construction 1s desired. In the presentinstance I have shown this method of fastening the end and sidewalls, inconnection with the upper section only, although it will be apparentthat such Walls of the lower section may be similarly connected. 1 V

The means which,I employ in this form of the box comprises rectangularcorner portions 10 which are formed integrally with both the side andend walls to be connected.

These corner portions are .swung bodily into an upright perpendicularrelation to the end walls and to the main wall, against the outersidewall and secured thereto. .To this end the outer side wall is scoreddiagonally near each end, as at 17, as well as lon itudinally as at20,and in the operation 0 swinging the corner portion into suchperpendicular relation, it flexes with reference to the side wallalongthe longitudinal line 20 and the side wall doubles upon itself along thediagonal line 17 (Fig. 1). The corner portions may be secured inposition in any suitable manner, as by means of staples 23; and they arescored diagonally at 24 as in the construction first described to enablethe side walls to bend outwardly as the end walls swing inwardly flatupon the main wall.

It will be observed that when the corner portions are thus swung bodilyinto upright position, they constitute stays which serve to resistvertical strains and thus impart strength to the box.

The intermediate side wall 14 of the box, it will be observed wouldnormally be only of single ply as compared with the double plyconstruction formed by the overlapping walls 10 and 13 when the box isclosed. For the purpose of strengthening this intermediate wall, theremay be secured upon its inner side a reinforcing stri 25 of a lengthapproximately equal to the length of the box. This strip is of a widthslightly less than the width of the intermediate wall so as not torestrict or interfere with the swinging movements of the sections A andB into interfitting relation. The strip may be secured in position as bymeans of adhesive or in any other preferred manner.

he operation of swinging the two sections of the box into interfittingor closed relation from the flat form shown in Fig.

2, is substantially. as follows: The operator grasps with one hand theouter side wall 10 of the upper section A, swinging it upwardly toward aperpendicular position relative to the main wall 8 while swinging thetop section bodily upwardly toward the bottom section. As the side wall10 is thus swung upwardly the connected end walls 9 are forcedoutwardly, (Fig. 6) and it may be observed that this latter operation isfacilitated and insured by reason of the reinforcement of the side wall10 by means of the strip 21. Through the operation of such reinforcingstrip, the portion of the. end wall between the diagonal folds 17remains approximately rigid and straight. Consequently as it swings intoupright position, the ends of the wall 10 beyond the folds 17 arecarried into alinement, and the latter acting upon'the adjacentconnected end walls 9 force them into upright or perpendicular positionwith respect to the main wall.

At the same time, the operator places his free hand upon the outer sidewall 13 of the lower section 8 and presses ('lownwardlp thereon. Thistends to restrain the opposite end walls from swinging upwardlynotwithstanding the upward swinging movement of the end walls 9 of theupper section. Such relative movement between the end walls 12 of thebottom section and the end walls 9 of the upper section, is permitted byreason of the presence of the notches 16 in the rectangular connectingportions 15 between the end Walls 9 and 12 of the two sections, as aboveset forth. N ow, as the upper section A is brought forwardly anddownwardly over the bottom section B, the end walls 9 occupy a positioninto or slightly beyond' perpendicular relation to the main wall 8 ofthe top section, and on the other hand the end walls 12 occupy aninwardly inclined relation with respect to the inain wall 11 of thelower section. It will be evident, there fore, that the. end walls 9 and12 are caused to assume, in a semi-automatic manner. their properrelation with respect to each other to insure'that they will notinterfere as the two sections are brought together with the bottomsection within the top section.

To permit the end walls 9 and 12 thus to be swung into overlappingrelation, the connecting rectangular portions 15 in addition to havingthe notches 16 therein, are scored diagonally along lines 26approximately in continuation of the edges of the notches. As shown inFig. 5, as the end walls 9 and 12 are brought together. oppositetriangular portions overlap forming a substantially closed joint.

As the top section in its forward and downward movement approaches thebottom section, the lower edges of the end walls 9 engage with the outerside faces of the inclined end walls 12. and the lower edge of the outerside wall 10 rests upon the upper edge of the outer side wall 13 at theopposite ends thereof. As shown in Fig. 7, these ends are inclinedupwardly and inwardly from the upper ends of the diagonal scores 17 andthe extreme outer corners of the lower section by reason of suchinclination of the ends of the outer side wall and of the inclination ofthe opposite end walls, are positioned well within the upper section. Inthe final operation, therefore, of closing the box, it is only necessaryfor th'e'operator to force the upper edge of the outer side wall 13 ofthe lower section inwardly from the position shown in Fig. -7 until itclears the lower edge of the outer side wall 10 of the upper section.Thereupon the two sections Ina be forced into telescoping relation.

f desired. the box may now be tied by a single strand 26 around thecentral portion thereof to maintain the two sections in closed relation.and it will he observed that the reinforcement provided by the flap 21upon the outer side wall 10 of the upper section insures that theportions of such outer wall upon opposite sides of the cord will notbulge but will be held firmly in position against the adjacent innerwall 13; also that such outer wall will not become torn or broken byreason of the presence of the tie,

as frequently happens in boxes of this general class.

I obtain a distinct advantage in the arrangement of the corner portionsso that in the case of the upper section they form part of the outerside wall, and in the case of the lower section they are made rigid withthe end walls. It facilitates substantially the operation of assemblingthe two sections, and imparts strength thereto. In the case of theconstruction shown in Figs. 4 and 4, it provides vertical stays bothupon the sides and the ends of the box.

It will be apparent that the box thus provided is of a veryadvantageouscharacter. Its simplicity enables its manufacture on aneconomical basis; it lends itself readily to shipment and storage inlarge quantities and at a relatively low cost; the entire operation ofassembling the box from its flat knocked-down form into closedcondition, requires only a few seconds; and when the box is thuscompletely closed, it presents a neat appearance and is of substantialstrength capable of resisting heavy vertical strains.

In compliance with the statute, I have illustrated and described myinvention herein as embodied in a box of the preferred form. Certaindetails of this box are'the invention of one Albert Dreyfus and myself,jointly, and claims directed to such features are contained in acopending application Serial No. 553,246 filed April 15, 1922. As to themore essential features of the box, and

also certain details of construction, I am prior copending applicationSerial No..

445,348 filed February 16, 1921; also a continuation in part of mycopending application Serial No. 485,221 filed July 16, 1921.

I claim as my invention:

1. A box having upper and lower sections each comprising a main portionwith end and side walls swingable relative to the main portion, one ofthe side Walls being common to both sections and forming a hingetherebetween, portions connecting the adjacent end walls of the twosections having notches in their free edges and scored to permit the twosections to be swung into inter-fitting relation, and means for securingthe outer side wall of each section to the adjacent end walls, the outerside wall of one of the sections havinga pair of spaced scores thereinalong which it. may bend when drawn outwardly at its center so as tocause the adjacent end walls to swing inwardly.

2. A box having upper and lower sections adapted to be swung intointerfitting relation, each of said sections comprising a main wall withend and side walls swinga-ble relative to the main wall, one of the sidewalls being common to both sections and forming a hinge: therebetween,and means for connecting the side and end walls together, the connectingmeans for the upper section including rectangular corner portionsintegral with and capable of flexing relative to-the connecting 'walls,the outer side wall having diagonal scores therein adapted to permit thecorner portions to be swung bodily into perpendicular relation to theend walls and to the main wall, and means for securing the cornerportions to the outer side wall whereby to maintain the adjoining wallsin normal perpendicular relation, the outer side wall for the lowersection also having diagonal scores therein permitting it to bend whendrawn outwardly at its center whereby to cause the connected end wallsto swing inwardly.

3. A box having upper and lower sections each comprising amain portionand four edge portions constituting side and end walls each swingablerelative to the main portion, one of the side walls being common to bothsections and forming a hinge therebetween, portions at the oppositevends of said common side wall constituting connections between alignedend walls of the opposite sections and having diagonal scores thereinwith notches 95 at their free edges whereby to permit the two sectionsto be swung into interfitting relation, and means for securing the outerside walls of each section to the adjoining end walls, said outer sidewalls having diagonal scores therein adapted to permit the end walls tobe swung inwardly flat upon the main portion while the outer side wallsare swung outwardly into the plane of the main portions.

4. A box comprising two sections each having a main portion, a pair ofopposite end walls and an outer side wall, a portion between the mainportions constituting a hinge therebetween and forming a common sidewall for the box, the end walls of the respective sections beingswingable with respect to the main portions independently of each other,and means for securing the outer side walls to the end walls, one ofsaid outer 115 side 'Walls having scores therein whereby said end wallsmay be positioned by the manipulation of such outer side wall so as tofacilitate the operation of swinging the sections into interfittingrelation.

5. A box comprising two sections each having a main portion, two opposedend walls and an outer side wall, a portion between the main portionsforming a hinge between the two sections and constitutinga common sideWall for the box, and means for connecting the outer side walls to theadjacent end walls, the outer side wall of one section being scoredbetween its ends whereby when said side wall is swung out- 1313 wardlywith respect to its main portion the adjacent ends of the adjoining .endwalls are caused to swing directly inwardly so as to facilitate theoperation of assembling the respective sections in interfittingrelation.

6. A box of the character described having upper and lower sectionsadapted to be swung into interfitting relation and each comprising amain wall with end and side walls swingablerelative thereto, one of theside walls being common to both sections and forming a hingetherebetween, rec tangular corner portions integral with and connectingthe end' and outer side walls together, one of each pair of walls thusconnected being scored diagonally so as to permit such corner portion tobe swung bodily into perpendicular-relation to the other wall and to themain wall, andmeans for securing the corner portions to the scored wallswhereby to maintain it and'the other walls in normal perpendicularrelation.

7. A box comprising upper and lower sections adapted to be assembled ininterfitting relation and each having a main Wall with end and sidewalls swingable into perpendicular relation to the main wall, the outerside wall of the upper section having secured at each end thereof cornerportions formed integral with the opposite end walls, and the end wallsof the lower section having secured thereto corner portions formedintegral with the outer side wall, the outer side walls of both sectionshaving diagonal scores therein adapted to permit them to be swungoutwardly with respect to the main walls while the opposite endwalls areswung inwardly over the main walls.

8. A box comprising a-main wall with end and side walls swingablerelative thereto, rectangular corner portions integrally connecting theend and outer side walls together, one of each pair of walls thusconnected being scored diagonally so as to permit the corner portiontherebetween to be swung bodily into perpendicular position against theother wall and secured thereto, and oneof the adjoining walls beingscored diagonally to permit it to be swung outwardly from the main wallwhile the adjoining wall is swung inwardly fiat upon the main ortion.

9. box having a main wall and end and side walls swingable relative tothe main wall and to each other, the adjoining end and side walls havinga corner portion formed integral therewith, and one of the two adjoiningwalls being scored diagonally to permit such corner portion to be swunginto position a ainst it perpendicular to the other wall, sai cornerportion being scored diagonally along a line substantially coincidingwith thediagonal score in the scored wall to which it is secured wherebythe scored wall may be swung outwardly with respect to the main wall andthe adjoining wall may be swung inwardly-fiat upon the main wall.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto affixed my signature.

JOHN L. CHRISTENSEN.

